Registered Traveler is already in use in San Francisco, the New York area?s three major airports, and Washington?s Dulles and Reagan National airports.

Photo: Lacy Atkins, Sfc

Registered Traveler is already in use in San Francisco, the New...

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Passengers pass by the "Clear machine", on right to go through security at San Francisco Airport, Wed. Sept 19, 2007, in San Francisco. Ca. Clear is a pre-screening service that charges $99.95 a year to bypass the security lines.(Lacy Atkins /San Francisco Chronicle) MANDATORY CREDITFOR PHOTGRAPHER AND SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT

Photo: Lacy Atkins

Passengers pass by the "Clear machine", on right to go through...

Image 3 of 3

Spokesperson for the CLEAR organization shows off the Clear card. For $99.95 a year passengers receive a Clear card which is used in a machine at the airport to bypass the security lines, Wed. Sept 19, 2007, in San Francisco. Ca. Clear is a pre-screening service that charges $99.95 a year to bypass the security lines.(Lacy Atkins /San Francisco Chronicle) MANDATORY CREDITFOR PHOTGRAPHER AND SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE/NO SALES-MAGS OUT

Instead, Sims, who works in the computer industry, strolled to a special line marked by a blue light reading "Clear." He showed his boarding pass, Florida driver's license and a plastic card to an attendant. He inserted the card in an ATM-like machine and plunked his thumb down on a fingerprint reader.

The screen flashed "You are clear," and Sims headed to the front of the security checkpoint line. Elapsed time: about 20 seconds. By contrast, those waiting in line took about 7 minutes to reach the checkpoint.

"Not bad, huh?" the frequent business traveler said.

Sims is enrolled in Clear, the program that began operating at SFO this week. As of Wednesday, Clear was approving passengers at the major checkpoints in both of the airport's domestic terminals. By mid-October, Clear will open in the international terminal.

"It's great," said Sims, who's been using Clear since it started at the Orlando International Airport two years ago. "It saves you a lot of time."

Clear lanes are open in Terminal 1 from 4:30 a.m. to midnight and in Terminal 3 from 4:30 a.m. to midnight at the east checkpoint and from 4:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. at the west checkpoint.

Nearly 4,000 travelers have signed up for the Clear program at SFO since its arrival was announced last month by Mayor Gavin Newsom. San Jose International Airport has used the Clear system since January, and Oakland International Airport is considering a similar program.

To get into the fast lane, travelers pay $99.95 a year, submit to a background check and provide fingerprints and iris scans. Once they're accepted, registered travelers insert a plastic identification card into a machine, then let the machine read their fingerprints or irises. If they're cleared, they can then proceed directly to a security checkpoint.

Registration kiosks are open in both domestic terminals at SFO and at the Hyatt Regency hotel near the Embarcadero. Travelers can also enroll online.

Several people were waiting to register at SFO Wednesday, and were eager to get their chance to skip to the front of the security line.

"For $100, which is not that much, I want to try it to see how it works," said Roberta Barash Alexander of Fresno, a chief executive officer who is a million-mile flier on two airlines. "Anything that could make it better is worth trying."